CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE !
[ real life ]

❝ I SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE. ❞

tw for mentions of abuse, no actual abuse occurs, just mentions of events from previous chaps

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ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ

"cherries."

aurora pulls away from matt once he mumbles the word against her lips, furrowing her brows slightly. "what?" she questions in a whisper. "literally what?"

he rolls his eyes at her confusion and explains his words further. "you taste like cherries again," he tells her, her eyebrows just furrowing more until she realizes what he's talking about.

"oh sorry." she blinks in surprise, leaning away from him a smidge. "i put on lip balm once we got back from the aquarium."

"no need to apologize." he's quick to shake his head, using his hand still placed on her jaw to gently pull her back into the same space she leant away from. "i'm starting to prefer it," he tells her honestly, making an upturn grow to the side of her lips right before he leans in to resume kissing her like he was before.

after the trip to the aquarium, kingston and makayla dropped aurora and matt off at matts place and then headed to kingstons house. by the time aurora and matt got back, venus and raven had already left so elijah was the only one still at the triplets'. the groups sleepover had come to an end but aurora decided to stay over again because she just doesn't want to go home yet.

they stayed at the triplets house for a bit before both becoming incredibly hungry and deciding to head for a late night trip to ihop. that's how they got where they are now, in matt's car in the parking lot of the restaurant.

they were going to head inside straight away but 'do i wanna know?' by the arctic monkeys began to play and aurora claimed they had to stay for the rest of the song to play out. as she sat there listening to the melody, matt thought she looked too pretty not to kiss, so he didn't resist doing so.

his elbow rests on the cars console as he leans towards her side of the car to kiss her. her hand clutches onto the front of his hoodie where the strings are and his hand rests along her jawline to guide her faces movements as he kisses her. he's so easy to get lost in, so easy for her to become completely engulfed in. she becomes so transfixed in the moment, so submerged in the feeling of having him all to herself, she almost doesn't realize the song has ended.

just as he tilts his head more to deepen the kiss, she focuses on the sound of a new song beginning to play. she sighs internally and drops her hand from his hoodie. she instead raises both of her hands to cup his cheeks. she instantly feels the way matt smirks into the kiss slightly, assuming she's involving herself more into the movements between them, just for it to fall when she uses her grip on the sides of his face to pull away from him.

"matt," she chuckles just slightly, amused by the confusion present on his face as if he doesn't get why she would pull away from him.

"what?" he murmurs, his hand on her jawline loosening its grip slightly.

"we've gotta get inside," she tells him, removing her hands from his face as he sighs. "as much as i enjoy kissing you, i am very hungry and refuse to sit in here all night."

"a new song just started though, which means we have to wait for it to finish," he teases her, using the same words she had said to him earlier. she rolls her eyes at her own sentence being thrown back at her. "what's this one called?" he asks curiously, referring to the new song coming from the cars speakers.

"i wanna be yours," she answers, recognizing the lyrics instantly.

he tilts his head, deciding to mess with her. "aw thanks, rory," he sighs dreamily, making her lips thin into a straight line. "you already are though."

she's instantly groaning and sitting up in her seat to get away from him as he still leans on the console. matt watches her amusedly as she turns to look over at him. "i'm about to go inside and just leave you here," she states blankly.

"c'mon now," he rolls his eyes playfully at the girl, keeping his teasing act. "let's just listen to the rest of the song."

she gives him a stern look but the smug upturn to his lips doesn't falter so she sighs. "we'll listen to the rest," she ultimately gives in, watching the way his slight smirk turns to a grin as she scoots further in her seat, leaning over to him look at him like she was before. "but i'm not going to kiss you, we're going to actually listen to it."

he instantly scoffs in offense from her assumption. "uh, the reason i said that was to just listen to the song in the first place."

she blinks. "okay..."

once he sees her look that suggests she doesn't believe him in the slightest, he sighs and sinks down in his seat. "my bad if i wanna kiss my girlfriend," he mutters under his breath, only getting an amused quirk of her lips from her. he turns to look at her and clicks his tongue once he sees her expression. "sometimes it's really hard to resist the urge since i know i can do so now, yknow?"

aurora catches herself smiling from his words, heat coming to her cheeks, before she realizes what he's doing. she tilts her head at him, giving a challenging look. "doing that isn't gonna work."

"oh?" he questions, raising his eyebrows. "what am i doing?"

"that," she answers, glancing over his smug face as he pretends to not have a clue. "trying to get me to want to kiss you isn't going to work."

matt crosses his arms over his chest. "i—"

"shhh, matt," she cuts him off, him gaping at her. "listen to the song."

"'kay," he mumbles shortly, turning away from her with a huff and sinking into his seat further.

as a silence spreads between them, he finds himself actually paying attention to the song and what it entails. the lyrics describe a craving for something so life consuming that they'd settle for being every day objects just so they could belong to the person they crave so badly. matt is no stranger to this feeling. he's craved aurora practically since the day he first ever met her. he craved her when she screamed at him, when she ran away from him, when she was with other people, and when she wouldn't even spare a glance in his direction anymore. he's always craved her and now he gets to actually have her. he's never been so thankful for someone like he has been with aurora. the lyrics go straight to his heart, along with where auroras always remained.

he looks over to her as the song continues to play through, a warm feeling spreading throughout him. she looks so pretty in her own little world, glancing out the windshield at all the cars passing by the road next to the parking lot. the car lights flash over her face, setting different hues and new point of views for matt. she's so pretty it practically hurts his heart from just looking at her beauty for too long. he can't believe he was ever ashamed to say that—to even think it. he thought it was a crime, expected someone to catch him red-handed. it's unbelievable honestly. now, he's not afraid to shout it from the very highest rooftops.

she feels his stare and looks over at him, expecting a teasing look and furrowing her brows when she finds his face as soft as ever. "what?" she asks hesitantly.

he shrugs, not being able to help the smile that forms on his face. "nothing," he answers softly.

the song eventually ends and they both finally get out of the car, beginning to walk hand in hand to the buildings entrance. aurora leans in a little closer than usual to them as they walk because of how cold it is and matt, of course, doesn't complain.

once they go inside, there's only two other booths with people sat in them because of how late it is, so they settle on going for a booth in the very back.

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ⁱⁿˢᵗᵃᵍʳᵃᵐ

officialsleepingbeauty

liked by embodimentofgirlinred, queenstonfr, and 1,203 others

officialsleepingbeauty bf matt 😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨

tagged - notananklesock

user HES MADE IT TO THE SPAM TOO WE'VE WON

user never in a million years did i ever expect to see matt and aurora on a date i have to wipe away the happy and proud tears rn

user i will NEVER get used to this. LIKE???? THEYRE HAPPY???????

oliviarodrigosbf WHAT

oliviarodrigosbf WHEN THE FUCK DID U GUYS LEAVE THERES NO WAY

oliviarodrigosbf just went in matt's room expecting u guys to somehow still be in there and jaw DROPPED when it was empty like. WHAT THE FUCK.
↳ officialsleepingbeauty hey chris
↳ oliviarodrigosbf STOP FUCKING RANDOMLY DISAPPEARING

user we said bf matt content and rory PROVIDED

elijahluvsdilfs ok but r u bringing back food or what
↳ officialsleepingbeauty no
↳ elijahluvsdilfs just go home then
↳ officialsleepingbeauty 😐

notananklesock cool guy
↳ officialsleepingbeauty not in the slightest
↳ notananklesock ok die then
↳ officialsleepingbeauty ur already catching onto my vocab aw

user no thoughts. just them.

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ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ

"...remember when we hated each other?"

"that was last week, matt."

"shush," he rolls his eyes, swallowing a bite of his chocolate chip pancake as she gives him a blank look. "remember when..." he trails off for a moment, thinking on a time to bring up as she stares at him, holding back a sigh. "you ran away from me when i kissed you for the first time?"

"okay, matt," she sighs exasperatedly, putting her fork down and tilting her head at him in challenge. "remember when you avoided me for a week after that?"

that doesn't make matt falter, his lips just barely form a hint of a grin. "remember when you got drunk and called me pretty?"

aurora holds in an eye roll, giving him a genuine shrug. "jokes on you because i'd say that sober too."

"yeah?" he questions, hiding the grin threatening to take over his features by taking another bite of his pancake.

"mhm," she confirms with a hum, examining the hint of a smile on his lips and smiling herself. "i'm sober and i think you're very pretty, matt."

matt nearly chokes on his food, beginning to cough as aurora just laughs from how flustered it makes him. he manages to gulp the food down and gives her a serious look, a bit of a rosy tint on his cheeks. "you can not say shit like that when i'm eating, rory."

she just rolls her eyes playfully at him, finding it amusing out of all things.

the two return to their usual conversation of banter when matt suddenly remembers one of the main reasons he wanted a moment of privacy with the girl. he clears his throat slightly, not all that sure on how to bring it up.

aurora notices he grows quiet and glances up at him, brows furrowed slightly. he notices and sighs, raising a rand to rub at the back of his neck awkwardly as he decides how to say this. "uh... could you um..." he trails off, trying to come up with the words he wants to get out and failing.

"what?" she asks questionably, not having a clue about what he's struggling with getting out.

"could you tell me about what you were going to yesterday?" he eventually speaks, a clear hesitancy to his voice.

auroras eyebrows furrow even more, trying to figure out what he's even talking about until it hits her. he's talking about the situation with her step dad that he doesn't even know involves her step dad yet. he just knew something was up and she told him she'd tell him about it later. it seems like 'later' is now.

she struggles on responding for a moment too long. "um," she mumbles. "it's not that easy to just come out and say."

matt's eyes instantly soften, not wanting her to assume he's going to pry it out of her. "you don't have to just come out and say it immediately," he tries to reassure her. "i just.. really wish you'd talk to me about whatever it is because i can tell it's getting to you and bothering you."

she stares at him and his gentle expression for a few seconds before sighing. "i want to tell you, i promise," she tells him surely. "i just don't really know how."

he hums, wanting his best to understand but not really being able to since he doesn't know what the root of the problem is. he thinks on what to do for a bit too long before getting an idea. "what about this," he speaks up, catching her eyes again. "we go out somewhere since it's only like eleven pm and talk like normal so you like, forget you have to tell me and just end up wanting to tell me. like we can do something fun and joke like usual and make sure you're fully comfortable enough to tell me before you  do, you know?"

her brows scrunch together a tad, eventually understanding where he's going with that after letting his words sink in for a moment. she thinks on it, deciding if that's really what she wants to do, before giving a short nod. "okay."

"okay," he repeats, giving her a small reassuring smile.

a quietness forms between them before aurora speaks again, leaning into the table slightly. "so, where we gonna go?"

matt thinks for a few seconds before giving a simple shrug. "i know places."

"when you said you knew places, i didn't really expect a random beach."

"yeah," matt sighs. "i didn't really plan it out or i would've brought a blanket or something."

matt sits back on the sand with his legs spread out, aurora sat in between them. she leans back into him as she messes with the single ring on his left hand, the autumn breeze blowing past them every few minutes. it's a tad chilly due to matts lack of planning so they're extra close for any type of extra warmth they can get.

aurora glances at the waves a large distance from them, the sound coming from them washing into the shore being one of the most peaceful thing she's ever heard. there's sand getting all over her pants from sitting down here but she doesn't even care, she just finds solace in the comfortable environment, especially with matt right there behind her. she's been spinning the one ring he has around and taking it on and off, unsure of how to just tell him what happened.

"so, what do you think-"

"stop," she cuts him off, taking him by surprise and having him instantly close his mouth shut. her eyes widen from her own abruptness and she explains, "sorry. i just uh... i think i'm gonna try and explain this whole thing or whatever already."

"oh," matt murmurs, using his free hand she's not fidgeting with to tap against the sand soothingly. "are you sure?"

"yeah."

"okay."

aurora grows silent for a moment and matt is patient with her, not saying a word and letting her speak whenever she chooses to. she just feels so out of place talking about it because of how vulnerable it makes her. she doesn't feel uncomfortable or like she doesn't want to tell him, she just doesn't know how to without making herself seem weak.

she thinks on it to herself for a bit. she's been vulnerable with matt multiple times and it's never gone badly. matt's understanding and patient, she knows that. he's seen her weak and he's seen her cry, she shouldn't be scared to be vulnerable with him. she takes in a short breath and begins talking before she can convince herself otherwise. "when i went home after dying my hair, my dad was home," she starts. "i thought he was gonna be like, out of town because of his work for a while longer but i guess not."

matt shifts from behind her. he doesn't say anything to express his distaste for her step father but it's still clear somehow. he instantly decided he hated the man in elementary school, when he kept seeing aurora holding back tears because of things he'd say. he didn't like anyone who ever dared to hurt aurora and before he became her public enemy number one, her step dad had held the title.

aurora can practically feel the disapproval pouring off of him from just the mention of the man before he hums quietly, insinuating that he's still listening and for her to go on. she sighs to herself. "he did not like the hair."

matt doesn't hold back his scoff. "he doesn't like anything," he murmurs disapprovingly before raising his hand to loosely twirl around one of her strands of hair. "your hair looks great, rory."

a ghost of a smile takes over her lips, finding it endearing how defensive he is over her hair. "thank you, matt," she says genuinely, earning a hum from him as his hand leaves her hair. "but uh, when i was talking to him, i was still wearing your clothes and he literally thought they were ross'."

matt rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything, letting her go on.

"and then he went on this tangent about how ross is a great guy and comes from a good family or whatever the fuck," she explains, face scrunched up slightly as she recalls all of it.

"gross," matt murmurs, no longer shy to express his disapproval.

"yeah, i told him they were your clothes and he got like pissed," she tells him, throwing her hand out to further her point. she continues messing with the single ring on his hand with her other hand as she goes on. "he started going on about how i forgive people too easily and that it's stupid for me to be with you. i don't know, all this idiotic shit," she explains, matt's lips twisting downwards from behind her.

matt holds in a short 'he's fucking stupid,' and instead doesn't say anything so she can continue explaining the situation.

"i got really annoyed and we just started arguing and uh.. i mentioned his relationship with my mom and he just got so mad," she speaks hastily, not wanting to tell the next part of the story. her hand slows it's fidgeting with matt's ring and she lets out a breath. "um... he.." she trails off, not finding the courage to admit what he did.

matt tenses at the way her demeanor shifts so quickly. "what did he do?"

she doesn't answer.

"aurora," his voice is a serious one. "what'd he do?"

aurora takes in a large breath, knowing she has to tell him because he's matt. "i don't know, he just slapped me," she forces herself to get out.

she can feel matt's entire body stiffen from behind her. "what?" he murmurs, his voice indecipherable. aurora doesn't say anything and he shakes his head to himself repeatedly, pulling his hand she was messing with away from her and grabbing both of her hips to motion for her to turn around and face him. she sighs to herself and does so, immediately wishing she hadn't when she sees his face. his eyebrows are scrunched together so deeply there's wrinkles on his forehead and his lips are parted in disbelief just slightly as he looks at her. "he put his hands on you?" he questions, almost in denial as he raises his hand to examine her face like there should be evidence left behind.

she sighs. "matt, stop," she whispers, gently pulling his hand from her face. "it was on thursday. i'm fine now."

he presses his lips together, trying to take in what she's telling him. he looks away and into the sand they're sitting on before he's hit with a moment of realization and instantly looks back to her. "is that why..." he trails off, almost not wanting to even ask it because the answer is beginning to be obvious. "is that why you called me?"

she chews on the inside of her cheek. "yeah."

"fuck," matt murmurs instantly, clamping his eyes shut and raising his hands to rub at them frustratedly. aurora can practically see the guilt immediately begin swirling around in his stomach.

"matt..." aurora tries, feeling bad for the boy since she doesn't hold anything against him for not picking up. "it's fine."

"no," he disagrees immediately, bringing his hands down from his face and shaking his head slightly. "it's not fine, aurora," he tells her seriously, making her close her mouth. he reaches his hands out to her to pull her slightly closer to him, desperately needing the girl to know how sorry he is that he wasn't there. "i'm sorry. you needed me and i wasn't there—fuck, i'm so sorry, rory."

she shakes her head at him, putting her hands on top of his and trying to reassure him. "it's okay, matt," she emphasizes softly. "you didn't know."

"yeah, but i would've if i wasn't being selfish and shutting you out because of my own feelings," he instantly responds, not wanting her to excuse his actions. she frowns at him and he disconnects one of their hands so he can run an anxious hand through his hair. "you shouldn't of had to go through that alone. i should've been there. i'm so sorry, aurora. if i just—if i knew that's why you were calling, i would've been there in a second, i fucking promise."

"i know, matt," she tells him genuinely. "i'm not holding anything against you."

he glances over her features for any signs that she's lying before sighing and connecting their hands that he separated. his lips twist to the side for a second before he speaks again, voice now a harsher one. "if there wasn't a good chance he'd press a literal assault charge against me, i'd knock his fucking teeth in. i swear."

auroras lips twinge upwards in amusement and she nods. "yeah," she says. "he definitely would though, so don't."

"i'm not," he tells her although every fiber of his being wants to hurt him for ever thinking it'd be okay to put his hands on aurora. he's not sure why he thinks he has the right to be violent with her when she's only ever wanted to make him proud since she was a child, but it makes him want to beat the absolute shit out of him. he can't though, because he's a powerful man and could definitely press charges against matt, especially since matts already eighteen. he sighs and pulls aurora into him through their connected hands. she disconnects them so she can wrap her arms around his back and his hands come to gently rest in her hair. he goes quiet for a moment before breathing a sudden, "you can't go back there."

auroras face falls slightly and she raises her head from where it fell into his chest to look up at him. "what?" she questions. "matt, i literally live there."

"you turn eighteen next week," he brings up, aurora almost forgetting about her own birthday yet again. "they can't force you to stay there."

she sighs. "i really don't think it's as easy as you want it to be, matt."

he just shakes his head at her, refusing the idea of her having to step foot into the same house as someone who had the audacity to put his hands on her. "you can stay with me," he offers although he very clearly hasn't thought it all the way through.

"matt," she lets out a long breath, appreciating him but looking to the more realistic side. "that's a really nice offer, but i just don't think it'd work. we still have school and i'm going to have to face him again eventually."

he clicks his tongue, now internally setting it as his goal to protect aurora at all costs, even if it has to be from her own step father. "we'll figure something out," he promises, leaning down to place a small, reassuring kiss to the top of her head.

she feels relief from his words although she's not really sure how it'd work. "okay," she murmurs.

it grows silent between them, an unspoken comfort and security in the air as it's just them and the ocean. aurora feels safe in his arms and it's all she really needs right now. he moves his hands through her hair as an act of endearment, trying to reassure the girl that everything will work out.

five minutes pass when a thought suddenly enters matt's head, an important one. he glances down at the fragile girl wrapped around him and hesitantly speaks up, "does eli know?"

she freezes and from the way her body stiffens, he knows her answer before she even says, "no."

"aurora..."

"i know," she frowns. "i'll tell him."

"are you sure?" matt asks gently, knowing how much it took for her to just gather the courage to tell him.

"yeah. i'll..." she trails off for a second, sighing. "i'll tell him when we get back."

💌

last idfc chap of 2022 woahhhh (for me at least)

i know i like said idfc would be completed before 2022 ends but like we're practically almost there so shhhh it's fine

i wrote this sleep deprived and barely running off of 2 cart hits from like 4 hours ago so like slay i guess? i think i'm going to sleep through new years can't lie 😂😂😂😂😂

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